Philip Skippon and the British Civil Wars: The "Christian Centurion"

by Ismini Pells

Overview

Philip Skippon was the third-most senior general in parliament’s New Model Army during the British Civil Wars. A veteran of European Protestant armies during the period of the Thirty Years’ War and long-serving commander of the London Trained Bands, no other high-ranking parliamentarian enjoyed such a long military career as Skippon. He was an author of religious books, an MP and a senior political figure in the republican and Cromwellian regimes. This is the first book to examine Skippon’s career, which is used to shed new light on historical debates surrounding the Civil Wars and understand how military events of this period impacted upon broader political, social and cultural themes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000054873
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/06/2020
Series:	Warfare, Society and Culture
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	306
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

Ismini Pells obtained her PhD from the University of Cambridge. Following this, she was a research associate at the University of Exeter, researching Civil War medical practitioners. She is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Leicester, working on a project researching military welfare during the Civil Wars.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1. The English Gentry, Self-Fashioning and the Pursuit of Military Service 2. Military Culture and Professionalism in the English Regiments in Foreign Service 3. Civic Militarism, Religious Idealism and Politics in the City of London 4. The Art Militaire of the Civil Wars in Its European Context 5. The Experience of Warfare and Martial Culture Amongst Ordinary Soldiers During the Civil Wars 6. Military Victory and Alliances Under Strain 7. Reconciliation, Reform and the Rump Parliament 8. Military and Civilian Government from the Cromwellian Protectorate to the Restoration. Conclusion: The "Christian Centurion" Reassessed

Editorial Reviews

What a joy to read a book that vividly brings the civil wars to life, and which

does so with such scholarly authority and balanced judgement. Ismini Pells

has produced an exemplary study here of Philip Skippon, a prominent, senior

general in the New Model Army. Yet this book does much more than simply

rescue Skippon from the historical shadow of Cromwell or Fairfax or provide

the attention that his remarkable military and political career and central role

in the civil wars ‘deserves’; Pells provides a lesson in how to write serious historical

biography.”

Alan James, King’s College London for the International Journal of Military History

and Historiography

From the Publisher